Towing ski attachment for snowmobiles and method of using same

ABSTRACT

A towing ski for attachment to the skis of snowmobiles and similar vehicles designed for travel over snow so as to facilitate the towing of an inoperative snowmobile in a rearward direction. Each towing ski comprises a ski member having a straight portion and a generally upwardly curved forward end. A stop member is carried on the upper face of the ski member and projects toward the rear end thereof. The rear portion of the snowmobile ski is adapted to be fitted onto the straight portion of the ski member with the stop member providing a means for preventing the snowmobile ski from overriding the forward curved end of the towing ski when the snowmobile is being towed rearwardly. Means are provided on the towing ski to prevent lateral movement of the snowmobile ski with respect to the longitudinal axis of the towing ski.

.1 agel et a1.

States TOWING SKI ATTACHMENT FOR SNOWMOBILES AND METHOD OF USING SAME[22] Filed: May 7, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 141,132

[52] US. Cl. 2811/28 [51] Int. Cl 1362b 17/02 [58] Fieldof Search280/28, 11.13 T; 180/5 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS948,866 2/1910 Mennenga 280/28 1,595,632 8/1926 280/11.13 T 3,437,3544/1969 180/5 R 2,627,442 2/1953 Junker 3,318,403 5/1967 Hansen 180/5 RFOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS France 280/1 1.13 T

[ Jan, 22, 1974 Primary Examiner-Kenneth H. Betts AssistantExaminer-John A. Pekar Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Hauke, Gifford &Patalidis [5 7] ABSTRACT A towing ski for attachment to the skis ofsnowmobiles and similar vehicles designed for travel over snow so as tofacilitate the towing of an inoperative snowmobile in a rearwarddirection. Each towing ski comprises a ski member having a straightportion and a generally upwardly curved forward end. A stop member iscarried on the upper face of the ski member and projects toward the rearend thereof. The rear portion of the snowmobile ski is adapted to befitted onto the straight portion of the ski member with the stop memberproviding a means for preventing the snowmobile ski from overriding theforward curved end of the towing ski when the snowmobile is being towedrearwardly. Means are provided on the towing ski to prevent lateralmovement of the snowmobile ski with respect to the longitudinal axis ofthe towing ski.

5 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTEB JAN 2 2 I574 IIVVEA/TORS EDWARD HJAGEL JOSEPH R. PURZYCK/ rforneys TOWING SKI ATTACHMENT FOR 'SNOWMOBILESAND METHOD OF USING SAME BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION l. Field of theInvention The present invention relates to vehicles designed for travelover snow and the like and, in particular, to an attachment forsnowmobileskis to facilitate the towing of an inoperative snowmobile.

II. Description of the Prior Art The advent of snowmobiling has opened anew area in the winter recreational field and has evolved into a rapidlyexpanding industry. One of the problems faced by people usingsnowmobiles which employ skis of present day 'design is the towing ofthe snowmobile when the same becomes inoperative. Normally, theinoperative snowmobile is towed by a second snowmobile in a rear-end torear-end relationship so that the inoperative snowmobiles driving trackscan be raised above ground level with the forward end to be supported byits steering skis. An often encountered problem with this method oftowing is that the rear ends of the skis tend to dig into the snow andthis makes the towing of the inoperative snowmobile difficult. Also,substantial damage may becaused to the skis of the snowmobile beingtowed or its ski suspension system, or possibly the snowmobile towingthe inoperative snowmobile may be damaged because of the increased loadimposed upon it.

One solution to the problem which has been suggested is to disassemblethe conventional steering skis from the snowmobile and reverse theirdirection so that the forward upwardly curved ends of the steering skisface in a rearward direction with respect to the inoperative snowmobile.This willenable the towing of the inoperative snowmobile without thedanger of steering skis digging into the snow, However, this method isdifficult and time consuming in that the ski suspension portion of thesnowmobile must be completely disassembled and then reassembled in .areverse manner. This necessitates the carrying of additional tools bythe operator of the snowmobile, and requires that the operator have somemechanical knowledge of the assembly and disassembly of the skisuspension portion of the snowmobile. It would, therefore, be desirableto provide a new and easy method and apparatus which permits the towingof the inoperative snowmobile in a rearward direction without thenecessity of disassembling and reassembling the existing ski suspensionportion of the snowmobile.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention, which will be describedsubsequently in greater detail, comprises a towing ski for attachment tothe steering axis of an inoperative snowmobile or the like to permit itto be' towed in a rearward direction. Thetowing ski comprises a skimember having a generally straight portion and an upwardly curvedrearward end with the upper surface of the ski member being so contouredas to mate with the bottom of the rear portion of the snowmobilesteering ski when the same is positioned thereon, so as to prevent theski from moving laterally with respect to the towing ski. Means areprovided for preventing the snowmobile steering ski from overriding thetowing ski when the inoperative snowmobile is in tow.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a towingski attachment for an inoperative snowmobile and the like, which may bereadily attached to support the rear portion of a conventionalsnowmobile ski without the necessity of any fastening elements andwithout the-necessity of disassembling and reassembling the conventionalski suspension portion. 7

Other objects, advantages, and applications of the present inventionwill become apparent to those skilled in the art of snowmobiles when theaccompanying description of an example of the best mode contemplated forpracticing the invention is read in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawing wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughoutthe several views, and in which:

FIG. l is a side elevational view off an inoperative snowmobile in towand emploYing towing skis con structed in accordance with the principlesof the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view of the towingski attached to the conventional snowmobile steering skis illustrated inFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the towing ski attached to thesnowmobile steering ski and taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the towing ski illustrated inFIGS. 1-3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawing and, inparticular, to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is illustrated an example of thepresent invention employed for use in the towing of an inoperativesnowmobile 10. The inoperative snowmobile I0 is shown as being towed bya second snowmobile 12 with the rear end 13 of the inoperativesnowmobile 10 being raised above the snow a sufficient distance that thedriving tracks 14 of the snowmobile 10 are not in contact with the snow.The forward portion of the snowmobile 10 is supported by a standard skisuspensionsystem 15 including a pair of steering skis 16 (only one ofwhich is shown). Each steering ski 16 is provided with a spring mountingmember 18 attached to a vertical strut 20. The spring mounting member 18is usually attached to the steering ski 16 at a front point 22 and arear point 24, but may be attached in other ways or at other points thanthose illustrated. The spring mounting member 18 is conventional in itsconstruction andpermits the steering ski 16 to flex as it encountersvarious terrain contours.

As can best be seen in FIG. 3, the cross-sectional shape of theconventional steering ski 16 has a trapezoidal section 26 and a flat skiportion 28 overlying the trapezoidal section 26. The cross-sectionalshape of the steering skis produced by different manufacturers may ofcourse differ from the form illustrated herein, however, the steeringskiillustrated is of the form presently in common use.

Inconventional snowmobile constructions, it is a standard practice toprovide two'standard width steering skis 16 spaced at the forwardmostedge of the snowmobile 10 with the steering skis 16 being utilized toprovide both steering and forwardsupport for the snowmobile 10. Underordinary snow and terrain conditions, the steering skis 16 function verywell,-however, as mentioned hereinbefore, if an attempt is made to towthe snowmobile l rearwardly, in the manner illustrated in FIG. 1, therear edges 30 of the conventional snowmobile steering skis l6 tend todig into the snow and prevent such towing or possibly damaging thesteering skis 16, the spring mounting member 18, or the strut 20.

In order to facilitate the easy rearward towing of the inoperativesnowmobile l0, towing skis 32 are adapted to be mounted to the rear ofthe skis 16. Although only one towing ski 32 is illustrated in thedrawings, it is to be understood that a pair would be provided, one foreach steering ski 16. Each towing ski 32 comprises a ski member 34having a generally straight forward portion 36 and an upwardly curvedtapered rear end portion 38. As can best be seen in FIG. 3, the lowersurface of the towing ski 32 is contoured in a manner similar to theconventional snowmobile steering ski 16 in that it has a cross-sectionalshape consisting ofa trapezoidal section 40 and a flat ski portion 42overlying the trapezoidal section 40.

When the rear portion of the snowmobile steering ski 16 is positioned ontop of the straight front portion 36 of the ski member 34, the bottomface of the snowmobile steering ski 16 mates with the upper face of theski member 34, that is, the trapezoidal section 26 of the steering ski16 is disposed within the trapezoidal section 40 on the upper surface ofthe ski member 34. This mating engagement functions to restrain thesnowmobile steering ski 16 from lateral movement with respect to thelongitudinal axis of the ski member 34, and thus prevents the snowmobilesteering ski 16 from slipping off the towing ski 32 while theinoperative snowmobile 10 is being towed. In those steering skiconstructions in which the underlying surface of the steering ski is notof a trapezoidal cross-section, suitable means, such as a ridge alongthe outer periphery of the ski member 34 of the towing ski 32, may beprovided to restrain the steering ski 16 from lateral movement withrespect to the longitudinal axis of the ski member 34.

The rear portion 30 of each of the snowmobile steering skis 16 isprevented from moving forwardly and overriding the forward portion 38 ofthe towing skis 32 by means of a stop member 44 carried by each of theski members 34. The stop members 44 project slightly upwardly andforwardly toward the front portion 36 of the ski member 34 and thus asthe inoperative snowmobile 10 is towed the rear portions 30 of theconventional steering skis 16 or the backside of the spring mountingmember 18 will move into abutment with the stop members 44 to drive thetowing skis 32. It can thus be seen that each of the steering skis 16 isrestrained from both lateral movement and rearward movement with respectto the longitudinal axis of the ski member 34 and the inoperativesnowmobile 10 may be towed rearwardly without the difficulties of theconventional snowmobile steering skis l6 digging into the snow.

As can best be seen in FIG. 4, the stop member 44 has a configurationsimilar to the ski member 34 and thus may be formed during the samestamping operation in which the ski members 34 are formed, however, thecross-sectional configuration of the stop member 44 may take other formsso as to accommodate the backside of the other spring mounting membershaving different constructions than the member 18. The flat ski portion42 of the ski member 34 is provided with a pair of spaced, transverselydisposed slots 46 and 48 which respectively receive a pair of flanges 50and 52 formed at the end of the stop member 44. The flanges 50 and 52are bent toward the front end of the ski member 34 to secure the stopmember 44 thereto.

When the snowmobile 10 is being towed, the rear end 30 of each steeringski 16 and/or the spring mounting member 18 will tned to be shiftedtoward the curved end 38 of its associated towing ski and intoengagement with the stop member 44. Due to the aforementioned manner ofmounting the stop member 44, the same will pivot upwardly until theupper faces of the flanges 50 and 52 abut the bottom of the flat skiportions 42. Thus, a very simple means is provided for securing the stopmember 44 to the ski member 34, while providing for a slight pivotalmotion to the stop member 44 so as to accomodate various sized steeringskis.

The towing skis 32 when not in use may be stored in a storagecompartment within the snowmobile 10, as for example under thesnowmobile seat 33. The towing skis 32 each have a configuration andwidth similar to the conventional snowmobile steering skis and thus willserve to support the snowmobile steering skis l6 and the snowmobile inthe same positive manner as the steering skis 16 function when thesnowmobile 10 is propelled forwardly in a normal manner.

""iiafiihus'besei that the present invention has provided a new andimproved towing ski for attachment to snowmobiles and other vehicles ofsimilar design adapted to traverse snow and the like, which towing skipermits the snowmobile or vehicle to be towed rearwardly without thedifficulty of the conventional steering skis being damaged or otherwisesubstantially retarding the towing of such snowmobile and/or vehicles.

iis'iibliia also be observed that one of the advantages of the presentinvention is the ease of attachment and removal of the towing skis asattachment occurs simply upon placing the conventional steering skisthemselves onto the towing ski without requiring any modification to thesteering skis or any other mechanical fastening means.

It should also be noted that although one form of the present inventionhas been disclosed it is to be understood that other forms andmodifications may be had which come within the spirit of the inventionand the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. A towing ski for attachment to the skis of vehicles of the typedesigned to travel over snow for permitting the towing of the vehicle ina rearward direction, said towing ski comprising:

a ski member having a rear, straight portion, a generally upwardlyformed end, and laterally spaced slots;

a stop member, projecting toward the rear of said ski member in a mannersuch that the axial movement toward the forward end of said towing skiof said vehicle ski is restrained during the towing operation, andincluding laterally spaced flanges which register with the slots in theski member and which are bent toward the rear of said ski member, toallow the stop member to be manually attached to and detached from theski member.

2. A towing ski for attachment to the skis of vehicles of the typedesign to travel over snow for permitting the vehicle to be towed in arearward direction, said vehicle ski comprising a straight portion ofgenerally T- shaped cross section and a generally upwardly curvedforward end, said towing ski comprising a ski member having a straightportion and a generally upwardly curved end, means formed on the upperface of said towing ski for removably attaching said towing ski to saidvehicle ski beneath said vehicle ski such that the straight portion ofthe vehicle ski is carried by the straight portion of the towing skiwith the curved portion of the towing ski facing to the rear of saidvehicle to permit towing of said vehicle in a rearward direc-' tion,said attaching means comprising means forming a pocket for receivingsaid vehicle ski in a longitudinal direction from the rear toward thefront of said vehicle ski while permitting removal of said towing skiwithout interference in a longitudinal direction from the front of saidvehicle ski toward the rear thereof, said attaching means furthercomprising a stop member carried by the upper face of said member andattachable to and detachable from said member, said stop memberprojecting toward the rear end of said ski member, said rear portion ofsaid vehicle ski being positioned on said ski member, and below saidstop member in such a manner that movement of said vehicle ski towardthe forward end of said ski member is restrained by said stop member,said ski member having a pair of laterally spaced slots, said stopmember having a pair of laterally spaced flanges respectively extendinginto said spaced slots to secure said stop member on said ski member.

3. A towing ski for attachment to the skis of vehicles of the typedesign to travel over snow for permitting the vehicle to be towed in arearward direction, said vehicle ski comprising a straight portion ofgenerally T- shaped cross section and a generally upwardly curvedforward end, said towing ski comprising a ski member having a straightportion and a generally upwardly curved end, means formed on the upperface of said towing ski for removably attaching said towing ski to saidvehicle ski beneath said vehicle ski such that the straight portion ofthe vehicle ski is carried by the straight portion of the towing skiwith the curved portion of the facing to the rear of said vehicle topermit towing of said vehicle in a rearward direction, said attachingmeans comprising means forming a pocket for receiving said vehicle skiin a longitudinal direction from the rear toward the front of saidvehicle ski while permitting removal of said towing ski withoutinterference in a longitudinal direction from the front of said vehicleski toward the rear thereof, the upper face of said ski member beingformed with a flanged cross section to fit the contour of the vehicleski whereby said towing ski is restrained from lateral movement withrespect to the longitudinal axis of said vehicle ski.

4. A towing ski for attachment to the skis of vehicles of the typedesigned to travel over snow for permitting the vehicle to be towed in arearward direction, said vehicle ski comprising a straight portion ofgenerally T-shaped cross section and a generally upwardly curved forwardend, said towing ski comprising a ski member having a straight portionand a generally upwardly curved end, means formed on the upper face ofsaid towing ski for removably attaching said towing ski to said vehicleski beneath said vehicle ski such that the straight portion of thevehicle ski is carried by the straight portion of the towing ski withthe curved portion of the towing ski facing to the rear of said vehicleto permit towing of said vehicle in a rearward direction, said attachingmeans comprising a pocket formed on the upper surface of said towingski, said pocket extending longitudinally with respect to said towingski and'having an opening facing the rear of said towing ski wherebysaid vehicle ski is receivable in said pocket in a longitudinaldirection from the rear toward the front of said vehicle ski and isremovable by relative movement in a longitudinal direction from thefront of said vehicle ski toward the rear thereof.

5. The towing ski defined in claim 1 wherein said attaching meansfurther comprises a stop member carried by the upper face of saidmember, and attachable to detachable from said member, said stop memberprojecting toward the rear end of said ski member, said rear portion ofsaid vehicle ski being positioned on said ski member and below said stopmember in such a manner that movement of said vehicle ski toward theforward end of said ski member is restrained by said stop member.

1. A towing ski for attachment to the skis of vehicles of the typedesigned to travel over snow for permitting the towing of the vehicle ina rearward direction, said towing ski comprising: a ski member having arear, straight portion, a generally upwardly formed end, and laterallyspaced slots; a stop member, projecting toward the rear of said skimember in a manner such that the axial movement toward the forward endof said towing ski of said vehicle ski is restrained during the towingoperation, and including laterally spaced flanges which register withthe slots in the ski member and which are bent toward the rear of saidski member, to allow the stop member to be manually attached to anddetached from the ski member.
 2. A towing ski for attachment to the skisof vehicles of the type design to travel over snow for permitting thevehicle to be towed in a rearward direction, said vehicle ski comprisinga straight portion of generally T-shaped cross section and a generallyupwardly curved forward end, said towing ski comprising a ski memberhaving a straight portion and a generally upwardly curved end, meansformed on the upper face of said towing ski for removably attaching saidtowing ski to said vehicle ski beneath said vehicle ski such that thestraight portion of the vehicle ski is carried by the straight portionof the towing ski with the curved portion of the towing ski facing tothe rear of said vehicle to permit towing of said vehicle in a rearwarddirection, said attaching means comprising means forming a pocket forreceiving said vehicle ski in a longitudinal direction from the reartoward the front of said vehicle ski while permitting removal of saidtowing ski without interference in a longitudinal direction from thefront of said vehicle ski toward the rear thereof, said attaching meansfurther comprising a stop member carried by the upper face of saidmember and attachable to and detachable from said member, said stopmember projecting toward the rear end of said ski member, said rearportion of said vehicle ski being positioned on said ski member, andbelow said stop member in such a manner that movement of said vehicleski toward the forward end of said ski member is restrained by said stopmember, said ski member having a pair of laterally spaced slots, saidstop member having a paiR of laterally spaced flanges respectivelyextending into said spaced slots to secure said stop member on said skimember.
 3. A towing ski for attachment to the skis of vehicles of thetype design to travel over snow for permitting the vehicle to be towedin a rearward direction, said vehicle ski comprising a straight portionof generally T-shaped cross section and a generally upwardly curvedforward end, said towing ski comprising a ski member having a straightportion and a generally upwardly curved end, means formed on the upperface of said towing ski for removably attaching said towing ski to saidvehicle ski beneath said vehicle ski such that the straight portion ofthe vehicle ski is carried by the straight portion of the towing skiwith the curved portion of the facing to the rear of said vehicle topermit towing of said vehicle in a rearward direction, said attachingmeans comprising means forming a pocket for receiving said vehicle skiin a longitudinal direction from the rear toward the front of saidvehicle ski while permitting removal of said towing ski withoutinterference in a longitudinal direction from the front of said vehicleski toward the rear thereof, the upper face of said ski member beingformed with a flanged cross section to fit the contour of the vehicleski whereby said towing ski is restrained from lateral movement withrespect to the longitudinal axis of said vehicle ski.
 4. A towing skifor attachment to the skis of vehicles of the type designed to travelover snow for permitting the vehicle to be towed in a rearwarddirection, said vehicle ski comprising a straight portion of generallyT-shaped cross section and a generally upwardly curved forward end, saidtowing ski comprising a ski member having a straight portion and agenerally upwardly curved end, means formed on the upper face of saidtowing ski for removably attaching said towing ski to said vehicle skibeneath said vehicle ski such that the straight portion of the vehicleski is carried by the straight portion of the towing ski with the curvedportion of the towing ski facing to the rear of said vehicle to permittowing of said vehicle in a rearward direction, said attaching meanscomprising a pocket formed on the upper surface of said towing ski, saidpocket extending longitudinally with respect to said towing ski andhaving an opening facing the rear of said towing ski whereby saidvehicle ski is receivable in said pocket in a longitudinal directionfrom the rear toward the front of said vehicle ski and is removable byrelative movement in a longitudinal direction from the front of saidvehicle ski toward the rear thereof.
 5. The towing ski defined in claim1 wherein said attaching means further comprises a stop member carriedby the upper face of said member, and attachable to detachable from saidmember, said stop member projecting toward the rear end of said skimember, said rear portion of said vehicle ski being positioned on saidski member and below said stop member in such a manner that movement ofsaid vehicle ski toward the forward end of said ski member is restrainedby said stop member.